1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel neutral buoyancy auto-balancer for a diver to carry when diving in the water to automatically provide neutral buoyant force at any given depth in the water any time, more specifically the present invention relates to a new and novel buoyancy equalizing device for a diver carrying said device to be able to stay at any given depth in the water any time, by automatically adjusting the amount of air which is compressible fluid and the source of buoyant force into such amount as corresponding to a neutral buoyant force between a positive buoyant force and a negative buoyant force, in response to the variation of the water pressure caused by the change of depth, when diving and surrounded by the water, as non-compressible fluid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Among devices carried by a diver when diving, some associated with the buoyant force include: body itself of diver, wet suit, diving weight, BCD (flotation adjuster/jacket). The weight has always negative effect for the buoyant force, while the wet suit has always positive effect, and the body itself of the diver may vary between a negative and positive load. The buoyant force of human body varies in accordance of the difference of the state of expansion of the alveolus cavities, resulting from the respiration state of the diver. Breathe-out brings a negative flotation, and breathe-in brings a positive flotation. On the other hand the BCD varies the flotation by the change of volume thereof, with injection of air into its internal bag resulting in a positive flotation, and exhaust of air from the bag to the surrounding water resulting in a negative flotation.
FIG. 14 shows positional relation among diving devices in the prior art. In FIG. 14, compression air in a scuba tank 8 is supplied from a first decompression valve 81 though a second decompression valve, namely, a regulator 211, to a mouth-piece 214. The regulator 211 decompresses air to an equalized pressure--a pressure depending on the depth of the diver. Accordingly, the diver can smoothly breathe air into his lungs through the mouth-piece 214, regardless of the depth, and he can also naturally breathe air out of the lungs with the compression power of his lungs slightly overcoming the water-pressure due to his depth. Thus, by means of natural breath, air-bubbles can be breathed out by the diver through an exhaust port 213 into the surrounding water.
As shown in FIG. 14, in the Prior Art, a diver having a buoyancy control device (BCD) 9 carried on enters into the water. By operating manual valve 91 to supply air from an air cylinder 8 into the buoyancy control device 9 to inflate device, the diver may obtain buoyancy to be able to float on surface. Then, in order to dive, the diver operates the manual valve 91 to gradually lose buoyancy, as the air enclosed in the BCD 9 will be exhausted by the water pressure. At the time when the diver reaches to a desired depth, the diver operates the manual valve 91 again to stop exhaust of air to obtain buoyant force corresponding to that depth, so as to be able to stay at that depth.
In case of the device as stated above of the Prior Art, a diver is required to change the amount of air in the buoyancy control device 9 as the diver climbs or dives. Otherwise a diver may encounter a dangerous situation in that, when the diver dives in deeper depth, the buoyancy on that diver becomes excessively small to accelerate diving rate, and that when the diver climbs on contrary the buoyancy on the diver becomes excessively large to accelerate climbing rate. In order for a diver to pay attention on the operation of buoyancy control so often according to the change of depth without almost always any mistake, during diver's primary work in the water, the diver is required to have skill well trained and to have capability so as to calmly deal with the situation the diver meets in order not to be in panic.
Heretofore, in the description of buoyancy in the water, often a context is referred in which a diving bell, an object in a form of bell with an opening at the bottom and surrounding shields, is suspended in the water such that air in the bell is enclosed therewithin as the bottom opening is closed at the water surface.
Assuming that the weight of a diving bell suspended in the water is equalized to the buoyancy caused by the air enclosed therein. When gradually descending the diving bell down, hydraulic pressure which is one atmospheric pressure (atm) at the surface becomes gradually higher to compress the air in the bell. As a result, the water surface, the interface of the water with the air within the bell, will also gradually ascend, compressed air has smaller bulk volume and increases its density, and buoyancy decreases accordingly. If such a situation of negative buoyancy continues, the dropping rate of the diving bell will be accelerated further. If some amount of air corresponding to the water pressure at a given depth is added into the bell to descend the surface to the original level, the dive of the bell stops and the bell stays at that depth because buoyancy level moves from negative to neutral.
On the other hand, when ascending a bell which rests at a given depth with neutral buoyancy, surrounding water pressure gradually decreases and air in the bell inflates, so that the interface of the water with air in the bell descends down gradually and buoyancy increases accordingly. As a result the buoyancy becomes positive so that the bell ascends further. However, since certain excessive air in the bell will be exhausted to the outside through the bottom opening, the bulk volume of the air in the bell will be maintained at certain level, allowing for neutral buoyancy.
In the context as stated above, in order to obtain neutral buoyancy for such a bell, the opening is necessarily required to be held in the direction of gravity. If the opening is turned to the opposite direction of gravity, air in the bell is evacuated to the outside in one instant to eventually lose the functionality.